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“For far too long, the NFL has been sitting on its hands doing nothing while an entire population of Americans has been denigrated,” Reid said on the Senate floor Wednesday. “I believe [NFL Commissioner] Roger Goodell is a good man, but it’s time for this good man to act. Remove this hateful term from your league’s vocabulary, follow the NBA’s example, and rid the league of bigotry and racism.”

Reid praised NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, who on Tuesday announced the lifetime ban given to Sterling as well as a $2.5 million fine — the maximum amount allowed under NBA rules. Silver also said he would ensure support of other NBA owners to force a sale of the Clippers.

“I, along with most all of America, applaud the NBA’s work in swiftly moving to stamp out bigotry from its ranks,” Reid said. “Commissioner Silver and the NBA leadership have set the standard for how professional sports organizations should act in the face of racism.”

Calling the NFL “that money-making machine,” Reid pushed the league and Redskins owner Dan Snyder to take similar action and change the team name, which has also been labeled by many as racist and offensive to the Native American community.

“I wonder if they’ve taken notice of the NBA’s decisive action. How long will the NFL continue to do nothing, zero, as one of its teams bears a name that inflicts so much pain on Native Americans?” Reid said, citing the Native American tribes in his own state.

Reid slammed Snyder, saying he “fails to show any leadership” in refusing to change his team’s name.

“It is untoward of Daniel Snyder to try and hide behind tradition. Tradition? That’s what he says, in refusing to change the name of the team,” the senator said. “Tradition? What tradition? A tradition of racism is all that name leaves in its wake.”

Reid called the name a “degrading term” and pointed to another Washington team that changed what was seen as an insensitive name.

“Right here in Washington, D.C., 17 years ago, the Washington Bullets and the late [former owner] Abe Pollin, a wonderful man … saw all the gun violence and murders taking place in the D.C. area. and what did he do? He voluntarily decided that name, Washington Bullets, wasn’t any good,” Reid said.

“He didn’t want his team to be associated with bullets, so he changed the team’s name from Washington Bullets to the Washington Wizards,” he continued.

Reid said the Wizards “have struggled for a long time,” but he noted the team’s Tuesday win against the Chicago Bulls, which advanced the Wizards to the second round of the NBA playoffs for the first time since 2005.

The Nevada Democrat said Snyder could invite fans or high school kids to come up with a new name but added the NFL should get involved if Snyder continues to keep the Redskins name.

“Since Snyder fails to show any leadership, the National Football League should take an assist from the NBA and pick up the slack,” Reid said. “It would be a slam dunk.”